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Vulcan
---- The Vulcans (rare: "Vulcanians" ) were a humanoid species widely known for their logical minds and stoic culture. Hailing from the planet Vulcan, the Vulcans were instrumentally responsible for the founding of the United Federation of Planets. History and politics :See also: Vulcan history Commander Spock once theorized that Sargon's people may have colonized Vulcan some half a million years ago. Sargon believed that Humans and Vulcans might even be descendants of their early travelers. ( ) With the discovery of ancient humanoid progenitors in the 24th century, most humanoid lifeforms in the known galaxy were found to have a "seed" genetic code guiding their evolution to the humanoid form. ( ) Commander T'Pol revealed, regarding Vulcans and the planet Vulcan, that her "species evolved on this planet." ( ) Culturally one of the most fascinating species in the Federation, the Vulcans were once an extremely violent and emotional people (even by Earth standards) who waged almost constant warfare on one another. ( ) They believed in a variety of gods, such as war, peace and death. ( ) As their level of technology improved, the Vulcans eventually reached a point where their violent nature threatened species extinction. ( ) , father of Vulcan logic]] In an effort to avoid this fate, a Vulcan named Surak developed a new philosophy thereby igniting the Time of Awakening. Surak maintained that the root cause of all the problems on Vulcan lay in the uncontrolled outpouring of the people's emotions. His followers swore to live their lives by an ethical system devised by Surak and based purely on logical principles. Emotions were to be controlled and repressed. ( ) Although this new philosophy spread rapidly across Vulcan, a minority, many of whom were known as "those who march beneath the Raptor's wings", rejected Surak's ideals. A destructive war began including the use of atomic bombs and among the victims was Surak himself. ( ) Eventually, however, those who opposed logic left Vulcan and founded colonies elsewhere ( ) – most notably on the planet Romulus, where they founded what eventually became the Romulan Star Empire. ( ; ) At some point in history, the Romulans and the Vulcans engaged in a hundred-year long war against one another. The war was instigated by the actions of a member of the Q Continuum. ( ) Another group that rejected Surak's philosophy was known as the "V'tosh ka'tur" or "Vulcans without logic". The V'tosh ka'tur believed in controlling emotions by allowing themselves to actively experience them rather than suppressing them. Many of these also left Vulcan, and took up a nomadic existence. ( ) s (2063)]] The Vulcans were one of the first of the current powers to develop warp drive, though a century would pass between the first warp flight and the breaking of the warp 2 barrier. ( ) The Vulcans conducted a series of survey missions to the Sol system, as early as 1957. ( ). T'Pol told Archer that Vulcans "don't share" Humans' "enthusiasm for space exploration," but a Syrrannite on Vulcan advised Archer that this may not be true. ( ) The official First Contact between Vulcans and Humans came on April 5, 2063 when a Vulcan survey ship detected the warp flight of Zefram Cochrane's Phoenix. The Vulcans met with Cochrane at his launch site on the day following the flight. ( ) The Vulcans eventually became Earth's "big brother" in a way, advising Earth officials on how to proceed into the galaxy. The Vulcan High Command considered Humans volatile and similar to Vulcans before the Time of Awakening, and so attempted to slow down Humanity's move into the galaxy until the time was right. ( ) , Quark, while in 1947, said that he intended to give warp technology to the Ferengi so that they would have it before the Vulcans, although numerous other sources suggest that the Vulcans had warp drive centuries before that. Most likely Quark was simply unaware of this. The Vulcans may have had warp drive at least a hundred years prior to the 9th century BC when the P'Jem monastery was built on a planet presumably several light years from Vulcan.}} By the 21st and 22nd centuries, the Vulcans would have also made contact with the Cardassians, Trill, Tholians, Klingons, and scores of other races. ( ; ) In contrast to their tradition of peaceful exploration, the Vulcans had a long history of border skirmishes with the neighboring Andorians. The Humans helped negotiate a peace between the two over the disputed Class D planetoid, known to the Vulcans as Paan Mokar. ( ) In the 22nd century, the Vulcan High Command, once in charge only of space exploration and planetary defense, gained much more control over civilian affairs. Under the High Command's leadership, Vulcan policy toward other planets became more aggressive and interventionist, using the ancient monastery at P'Jem to spy on Andorian activities. ( ) Vulcan also became less tolerant of political and philosophical challenges towards the High Command's operations, notably engaging in purges of the Syrrannite group, who claimed that Vulcan society was no longer following the teachings of Surak. These tensions came to a head in the crisis called the Vulcan Reformation, which resulted in the overthrow of the High Command (and its leader, V'Las, who was secretly allied with the Romulans) and a restructuring of the Vulcan government under the leadership of Kuvak and T'Pau. One of the first acts of the new government was to end the policy of holding back Human expansion into the galaxy. ( ) As of the 23rd century, Vulcan had never been conquered in its collective memory. That memory goes so far back that Vulcans cannot conceive of a conqueror. ( ) Spock declines to have a drink with McCoy by saying that his people were "spared the dubious benefits of alcohol", McCoy scorns Spock's refusal by stating that he now knows why Vulcan was conquered. This would seem to contradict the above.}} By the 24th century, Vulcan remained one of the principal Federation members, and was deeply involved in all levels of that society. Their tradition of exploration continued; in the 24th century, a Vulcan ship was the first to make formal contact with a Gamma Quadrant civilization, upon encountering the Wadi. ( ) They were at the forefront of exploration in the Gamma Quadrant, encountering the Rakhari and finding the remains of the Hur'q civilization. ( ) Despite the enmity between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire, some Vulcans attempted to forge a more cordial relationship with their cousins, ultimately hoping to reunify the two cultures. Many of these efforts met with little success. ( ) In the wake of the Reman uprising, as well as the improved relations between the Romulans and the Federation after the Dominion War, it was unclear what the status of this movement was. In the 24th century, the Vulcan ministry of security was known as the V'Shar. ( ) Mirror universe History turned out much differently for the Vulcans of the mirror universe. When the Vulcans made first contact with Earth of this universe in 2063, shot the first Vulcan to publicly set foot on Terran soil, believing his vessel to be the vanguard of an intended invasion. The Terrans stormed the T'Plana-Hath and studied Vulcan technology. Eventually, the Terran Empire was able to conquer the Vulcans. ( ) By the 2150s, Vulcans were considered slaves to Humans and not treated as equals. A number of Vulcans and Vulcan ships rebelled against the Terran Empire, but by 2267, their attempts seem to have been unsuccessful. By that time, however, it appeared that Vulcans, such as , were treated with more respect and feared by some Terrans. ( ; ) In the 2370s, the Vulcans served as slaves to the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. Several were seen fanning the aboard . ( ) Some Vulcans, such as , joined the Terran Rebellion. ( ) referred to the Vulcans' arrival on Earth as being part of an "invasion force", though it is unclear if this is correct, or an assumption based on Archer's paranoia or the Empire's propaganda.}} Physiology Genetically, Vulcans and Humans were similar enough that they could produce offspring without any problems. ( ) Externally, Vulcans were generally similar to Humans, the chief exceptions being the Vulcans' notably arched and upswept eyebrows and distinguished external ear structure, the top of which tapered into a clearly defined point. Most Vulcans had straight, glossy dark brown or, more commonly, black hair and pale skin with a very subtle greenish tinge, much as the skin of Humans of European descent had a very subtle reddish or pinkish tinge. However, some Vulcans, including Tuvok, had brown skin, tightly coiled black hair, and physiognomic features similar to those found in Humans of African descent. Others shared physiognomic features similar to those found in Humans of East Asian descent. However, most Vulcans had a vaguely Eurasian appearance. (Star Trek: The Original Series; ; Star Trek: Voyager) Vulcans had body hair similar to Humans, and some males could be very hirsute. Vulcan males were also capable of growing facial hair (as evidenced by Sybok and both Spock and Soval in the mirror universe), but rarely did so. ( ; ; ; ; ) Vulcans possessed teeth that Humans did not have. These included anterior tricuspids, the presence of which implied that Vulcans also had posterior tricuspids. Vulcan teeth may have been be chemically capped, as Human teeth may be since the 20th century, in order to prevent decay. ( ) In contrast to their external similarities, Vulcan internal anatomy differed radically from that of Humans. For instance, their heart was where a Human's liver would normally be, ( ) and beat several hundred times per minute. ( ) They also had no appendix. ( ) Vulcan blood was copper-based and was copper- or rust-colored when deoxygenated in the veins and green when oxygenated in the arteries (although it is unclear if this transport mechanism was a hemocyanin as in Earth molluscs). Bruises and dermal abrasions took on a greenish color. ( ; ; ; ); (see also ) Vulcan body chemistry used little, if any, sodium chloride compared to that of Humans. ( ) Vulcans possessed a highly efficient respiratory system to extract the oxygen they needed from Vulcan's thin atmosphere. They were most comfortable in high temperatures, which was natural given the hot, arid climate of their homeworld. ( ; ) The Vulcan digestive tract was highly adaptable. Although alien foods, notably Human food, would occasionally disagree with a Vulcan, given time, their body could adapt to the alien food. ( ) Vulcan hearing was very sensitive. ( ) Vulcan females possessed a heightened sense of smell. ( ) Having evolved on a planet which was mostly desert, Vulcans developed ways of surviving in desert conditions. For example, they could survive for several days without water and had inner eyelids which protected their eyes. ( ; ) Vulcans had a superior metabolism to Humans. Caffeine and sapotoxins had little effect on them. ( ) They were also capable of surviving for long durations without food or sleep. Under stress, Vulcans could do without sleep for weeks. ( ) Tuvok once claimed that as a Vulcan he was capable of going without sleep for two weeks ( ), although shortly after making this claim he was observed to fall asleep in the command chair after having gone a little over 10 days without sleep. Vulcans were on average three times physically stronger than Humans, and had considerably faster reflexes. ( ) Vulcans were very sensitive to nitrous oxide gas, which rapidly rendered them unconscious. ( ) Vulcans typically had a lifespan of two hundred years or more. ( ) SpockChest.jpg|The Vulcan chest T'Pol naked.jpg|The Vulcan posterior Vulcan spine.jpg|The Vulcan spinal cord T'Pol, 2161.jpg|T'Pol, a female Vulcan (2161) Spock, 2267.jpg|Spock, a Vulcan/Human hybrid (2267) Tuvok2377.jpg|Tuvok, a Vulcan male (2377) The brain Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Vulcan physiology was the brain. The Vulcan brain was described as "a puzzle, wrapped inside an enigma, housed inside a cranium." ( ) This had some basis in fact, as the Vulcan brain was composed of many layers. It was in direct control of most of the bodily functions, acting as a control unit for many organs. Despite this, a Vulcan body from which the brain had been removed was capable of functioning and even walking around (albeit in a zombie-like state) with a portable life support system. ( ) Unlike most humanoid species, traumatic memories were not only psychologically disturbing to Vulcans, but had physical consequences as well. The Vulcan brain, in reordering neural pathways, could literally lobotomize itself. ( ) Vulcans learned to gain conscious control of many of these functions, allowing them to regulate their bodies to a high degree by simple will power. When injured a Vulcan could go into a trance-like state, using this ability to concentrate all of his or her energy onto repairing the injury. ( ) This trance could be self-induced and gave the physical appearance of near-death. It was similar, in principle, to Vulcan neuropressure techniques which could be used to relax the mind and body. ( ; ; ) The substance trellium-D acted as a neurotoxin to Vulcans, destroying the neural pathways which controlled their emotions. Treatment had to be provided quickly after exposure, otherwise the damage was irreversible. ( ) The most famous aspect of the Vulcan brain was the inherent telepathic abilities, such as the Vulcan mind meld. Vulcans were natural touch-telepaths. Though considerable training was required to utilize this ability to the fullest (this would be performing the fal-tor-pan), simpler contacts did not require any concentration, training or even conscious knowledge of the act. ( ) Vulcans called focal points in the bioelectric field of the brain qui'lari. ( ) Stronger minds were capable of non-contact telepathic projection and scanning, usually over short distances, ( ; ) but sometimes even over interstellar distances. ( ; ) Another psionic ability of the Vulcan race was the telepathic suggestion or compulsion, consciously performed by Spock, ( ) Sybok, ( ) Tuvok, ( ) and T'Pol, ( ) and unconsciously performed by Sarek. ( ) Although Vulcans did not, typically, allow themselves to experience uncontrolled strong emotions, they could sense them in others. ( ) Besides the Trill, who achieved this through the zhian'tara ritual, Vulcans were the only other known humanoid race capable of performing a synaptic pattern displacement, or the transfer of one individual's consciousness into another. Similar feats were also performed by the people of Sargon's planet, Janice Lester, Dr. Ira Graves, Rao Vantika and Tieran, though they used technology instead of psionic abilities to achieve it. ( ; ; ; ; ) Some Vulcans demonstrated the ability known as telekinesis. ( ) may notice that in the scene where Spock is taken up to the temple for the fal-tor-pan ritual, the "priestesses" are not carrying the bier by its handles, but by holding their hands above it.|This may be use of anti-gravity, but since the scene was within the Seleya monastery it is not too far-fetched to assume that the use of psionic abilities by those masters of Vulcan psionics is more likely than the use of advanced technology.|The non-canon Vulcan's Soul novel Exodus also suggests that the priests of Gol and Mount Seleya are able to use telekinesis.}} The psycho-suppression system responsible for the Vulcan suppression of emotions was located in the mesiofrontal cortex. ( ) Approximately every seven years, adult Vulcans had to endure pon farr, the Vulcan mating period. It was marked by intense emotions and primal urges (known as plak tow, or "blood fever") that could kill the Vulcan if not satisfied. Physiological symptoms included elevated dopamine levels and fever. For such an orderly society of quiet sobriety, the madness which accompanied the outbreak of pon farr was an unavoidable evil. ( ; ; ) ) was naturally-occurring or prematurely induced.|A central part of Vonda N. McIntyre's novelization's seventh chapter has Spock becoming intoxicated from eating a candy mint while on Earth, from the high sucrose content in it. This has had no basis in canon, however.}} Background Information Average Anatomy: Males height = 2.0 meters (6'6") Males weight = 70kg (154.3 lbs) Females height = 1.7 meters (5'6") Females weight = 50kg (110.2 lbs) Body temperature = 32.78C (91F) Heart rate = 242 bpm Blood pressure = 80/40 Body Temperature: )}} Medical conditions There are several diseases that the Vulcan species suffers from which include: *Pa'nar Syndrome *Tuvan Syndrome *Bendii Syndrome *Choriocytosis Society The government on Vulcan is a representative democracy. Individual political advancement is based on meritocratic principles. ( ) For an intensely logical race, the Vulcans do have spiritual beliefs. Though little is known about the details, their religious system is polytheistic. They also believe in the katra, the soul and consciousness of a person, which can be transferred psionically prior to death. ( ; ; ; ; ) Vulcans are generally non-violent, but logic dictates that combat is sometimes necessary. Vulcans can and do use weapons and practice martial arts called "tal-shaya", and "Suus Mahna". Most modern Vulcans are vegetarians. ( ) Vulcans are known for their high degree of honesty. They are extremely reluctant to tell a lie, and indeed it is said that "Vulcans cannot lie". However, they will do so for what they perceive as logical reasons, though they rarely refer to their dishonesty as "lying." ( ; ; ) On at least one occasion, Spock lies without any apparent logical reason (and, in fact, for a reason apparently consisting of nothing more than humor), when he claims to not have seen Kirk's last orders to himself and Doctor McCoy ( ). However, this may, in fact, be a result of those orders themselves, as Kirk had, in the orders, instructed Spock to follow McCoy's lead on intuitive and emotional matters, and McCoy had just refused to admit to seeing the orders. Development of a Vulcan's life of logic begins at a young age. Vulcan parents will utilize learning tools, such as pleenoks, to train their infants in primary logic. ( ) Vulcan children will then learn to detach themselves from their emotions at an early age. Despite this early training in logic, Vulcan children in nursery school are allowed to dance. These dances are reminiscent of the dances of the Orion slave girl, just not as well coordinated. ( ) As parents, Vulcans never shield their children from the truth. Doing so would only hinder their ability to cope with inevitable difficulties. A Vulcan parent's attachment to their children cannot be described as an emotion. They are part of the parent's identity and the parent is incomplete without them. ( ) Vulcans sometimes have mates chosen for them by their parents at the age of seven. The mates are joined in a ceremony that links them telepathically that is "less than a marriage, more than a betrothal". When the two come of age and undergo the pon farr, the link compels them to follow through with full marital rituals, which cement their relationship. ( ; ) If, for whatever reason, the female does not wish to go through with the marriage, then the ceremony of koon-ut-kal-if-fee ("marriage or challenge") is invoked. The male must fight for the right to keep his mate against a challenger of her choosing. The female becomes the property of the male who wins the contest, unless he chooses to release her. The koon-ut-kal-if-fee is a fight to the death. ( ) Contrary to stereotype, Vulcans do possess emotions; indeed, Vulcan emotions are far more intense, violent and passionate than those of many other species, including even Humans. ( ) It was this passionate, explosive emotionality that Vulcans blamed for the vicious cycle of wars which nearly devastated their planet. As such, they have focused their mental energies on mastering them. The essence of their logical society is in arriving at the truth through logical process. Emotions are illogical, thus making them impure, and deterrent to truth. Vulcans are born with the same emotions that afflicted their violent ancestors, but continual mental conditioning generally gives them the impassivity they seek. ( ) ) Additionally, T'Pol showed romantic interest in Commander Tucker on the ''Enterprise'', especially due to imbalances caused by exposure to trellium-D. ( )}} Though not all can arrive at the ultimate pure logical state, the exacting process of mental control gives Vulcans enough to conform to the ideals of Vulcan society. The ultimate level of logical thought is achieved through the attainment of kolinahr, which is said to purge them of all remaining emotions. ( ) Vulcans believe knowledge to be the best defense against unknown dangers, and pursue them with the intellect and logic that makes them some of the finest scholars in the Federation. Vulcans consider death to be the completion of a journey. Therefore, they do not fear it happening, however the loss of one's katra is to be avoided if possible, since the katra lives on beyond the physical death. ( ) Culture and tradition * Vulcans were fermenting wines, notably Vulcan port, during the 21st century. ( ) , where he noted, "My father's race was spared the dubious benefits of alcohol," when offered a glass of Saurian brandy by Dr. McCoy.|T'Pol also noted in that Vulcans don't drink wine, indicating that perhaps Vulcan port is for cultural purposes only, or perhaps is nonalcoholic.|In , Tuvok offered to accompany Captain Janeway to drinking wine in a holodeck simulation, possibly further contradicting T'Pol's claims that Vulcans don't drink wine. This could also be just a personal choice between Vulcans or that Vulcans haven't yet built a tolerance for alcoholic beverages. Events in suggested that beverages such as champagne may have contained synthehol rather than alcohol, which is not as intoxicating; it could be that Tuvok's offer was to drink a syntheholic wine, rather than an alcoholic one.}} * Although it has not always been so, most Vulcans are vegetarians. They also do not touch food with their hands, ( ) unless wearing special gloves. ( ) * Guests in a Vulcan household are expected to rise before sunrise to prepare the morning meal. ( ) Plomeek broth is considered a traditional Vulcan breakfast. ( ) * Vulcans play a game known as kal-toh. ( ) * What little is known about Vulcan religious beliefs indicates that beginning prior to the "Time of the Awakening" they were polytheistic. Surak's teachings became the primary focus of Vulcan spirituality/mysticism, but as late as the 23rd century it was still not unheard of to find Vulcans honoring the traditional gods. There are, however, no demons in Vulcan literature. ( ; ; ) * Many Vulcan females have names beginning with T' (T'Pol, T'Pring, T'Pau, T'Pel, T'Pan), but not all (Valeris, Sakonna, Saavik, Selar); many males have names beginning with S (Spock, Sarek, Sybok, Surak, Stonn, Soval), but not all (Tuvok, Lojal, Vorik, Taurik, Koss) Holidays * Kal Rekk * Rumarie * Tal-Shanar See also: *Vulcan history *Vulcan philosophy *Vulcan language *Vulcan salute *Vulcan mating rituals *Vulcan mythology People Vulcans do possess family names, although they are pronounceable by Humans only after many years of practice. ( ) *List of Vulcans *List of unnamed Vulcans Science and technology *Vulcan starships *Vulcan starship classes Alternate reality In an alternate reality, the planet Vulcan was destroyed by the Romulan Nero in 2258. Over six billion Vulcans were killed, with an estimated 10,000 survivors. After witnessing the atrocity, noted in his log that the Vulcan species had become endangered. ( ) Appendices Appearances A list of all appearances of Vulcans (excluding the regular appearances of Spock, Tuvok, and T'Pol): * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * ** ** ** ** (Excalbian recreation only) * ** ** * TOS films: ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** (footage from "The Dauphin") ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * TNG films: ** ** ** ** * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * ** ** (illusion only) ** ** ** ** (hologram only) ** ** ** ** (Species 8472 posing as Vulcan) ** ** ** (illusion only) ** ** (hologram only) ** (hologram only) ** ** Background The term "Vulcanian" has been described as an "Obsolete term meaning a native of the planet Vulcan. The term "Vulcan" has come to mean both the planet and the native of same." (Star Trek Concordance, pg. 248) The origin of the term from a production standpoint dates to , when NBC prepared a 12-page booklet, entitled "Advance Information on 1966-67 Programming: Star Trek," which described the series' regular crewmembers. The description of Mr. Spock mentions that his father was a native of "Vulcanis," and his people were known as the "Vulcanians." (The Star Trek Compendium, pg. 25) As a result of early "growing pains" in the writing staff, the term "Vulcanian" would be used sporadically (and sometimes interchangeably) during the first season, where it was heard in , , , , and . The Bajorans suffered similar "growing pains" when they were briefly known as the "Bajora" during their early appearances. The name "Vulcan" itself, in reference to the people, was first heard in . Also see: Vulcanian expedition and Vulcanian Scientific Legion of Honor. In a story idea that the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine writers had that eventually became the two-parter and , the Vulcans were to withdraw from the Federation. The cause of this schism was to be their concern that the Federation was becoming too concerned of the Changeling infiltration at the cost of civil liberties. Starfleet was to assume incorrectly that the Founders had infiltrated Vulcan society. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) In the unproduced animated series Star Trek: Final Frontier, set in the far future, the Vulcans left the Federation at some point in the 25th century to discuss reunification with the Romulans. cs:Vulkánec de:Vulkanier es:Vulcanos fr:Vulcain it:Vulcaniano ja:ヴァルカン mu:Vulcan nl:Vulcan pl:Wolkanie ru:Вулканцы sv:Vulcaner Category:Species Category:Vulcan